Trese is the brain child of Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo. They released the first issue of Trese, entitled "Murder on Balete Drive" in 2008 and successfully released four more issues and one supplementary book containing short stories and some illustrations. Just last year they made it to the Department of Education's required readings for grade school and high school students around the Philippines. They're next issue "High Tide at Midnight" is coming soon.

The plot revolves around the young Alexandra Trese, a somewhat consultant detective to crimes with Filipino mythology written all over it. It's set in a world where one of the most powerful businessmen is a tikbala, where there are gang wars between the aswang clan and the higante clan, and where politics is far dirtier than we thought it was. And Trese faces all of that without flinching.

Here are some reasons why she's our Woman Crush Wednesday:

She's badass

She can threaten anyone or anything without regretting it later. She calculates all her moves first very carefully before she acts. Not to mention she used to play around with a great fire spirit from the Great Binondo Fire back when she was a kid. She completed her training to attain the mandirigma-babaylan status (that's like chief priestess), facing the fiercest monsters Philippine mythology can throw at her for three whole years and still be chill. Seriously?

She's smart

Even mythological creatures are impressed by her abilities. There's a dying tikbala in front of you and you only have like three or four minutes before he dies. What do you do? According to Trese, you remember that healing technique you learned from your trials and use a Mercury Drug symbol as some sort of rune to complete him. Besides the magical powers, Trese knows to never overdo things. One time, she was invited over by an extremely powerful villain (name withheld due to spoilers cause it's that mind-blowing) for a talk. Unlike a normal protagonist who would go "I WOULD NEVER BREATHE THE SAME AIR AS YOU, SCUM!", she politely agrees and hears what that villain wants and leaves the same way, knowing that if she expresses her hate for that person, she would be far worse than dead.

She's hot

I guess she's mostly hot because of her badassery but have you seen Trese in a dress? God.

She respects all humans and Creatures

You know those heroes that ask for help and never give anything in return because they're the hero? Or that they pull the whole "BUT THE WORLD IS AT STAKE!" card? Trese isn't like that at all. She treats all monsters and humans with the amount of respect that they deserve. When she does ask for favors for her investigations, she only whoops the asshole's asses while she gives something in return for those kind and good-hearted people's efforts. When Captain Guerrero asks for some rule book for the spirits, Trese simply says that this is the only rule that one needs in surviving the spirit world and that is to treat everyone with respect. Very moralistic of her, but hey, look how far that has gotten her.

Trese is amazing most especially because this is the first time I have ever seen a graphic novel that incorporates Filipino mythology and uses Manila as a noir setting. They capture Manila's darkest secrets so perfectly that it makes me look around the city that I have been living for my entire life in a different perspective. As a writer, I have never really set my stories in the Philippines but after reading Trese, after unlocking how the Philippines is so rich with good plot ideas, every time I step outside my house I see possibilities. Did I mention that Trese is one of those comics that doesn't sexualize their female main character? That is really rare to find.

If I say anymore reasons as to why you should love Alexandra Trese, much less READ TRESE, I might spoil the whole series. Seriously, buy the books they're only around 200 pesos per issue and each one is action packed, filled with good plot, and rich with Filipino culture. Support the series by following them on Blogspot and Facebook!